Mirio ran out of the building at full tilt, his infrared goggles still affixed to his forehead. He paused after descending the steps to the tower behind him and pulled the device down over his eyes, looking left and right. Not far on his left standing near a line of bushes was a human-shaped blob of red and orange. Mirio hurriedly pulled his goggles back up, only to find a female student standing in the same location and giving him a weird look. Embarrassed, he offered her a sheepish grin and shook his head as he moved to pass the unfamiliar girl.

"Sorry…"

With a sigh, Mirio continued to make his way down the paved path and around the central fountain of the courtyard. As a precaution, he pulled down his goggles again, looking all around himself while he slowly made his way forward. Two blobs were approaching down the path, seemingly in a conversation. Another was off to his right, headed toward the dorms. Upon pulling his goggles up, the latter figure vanished entirely, and Mirio froze. The boy narrowed his eyes as he peered off into the darkness, squinting to try to catch sight of whoever it was. He couldn't tell if anyone was actually there, and upon looking through the goggles again, he saw their infrared silhouette hurrying up the steps and toward the door.

Mirio removed his headgear entirely and gave one final glance to the entrance, where the doors were illuminated by an overhead light. There was no one standing on the platform at the top of the steps as the door swung open. Had he simply missed them slipping into the building in the time it took to get the goggles off, or was something else going on? Mirio had no idea or way of confirming what he had seen, or maybe hadn't. The thought brought a chill up his spine, and he turned around to make a frantic sprint to the parking garage.

"Losing my damned mind…" Mirio muttered to himself as he entered through the doorway leading to the concrete structure.

Mirio hurried past the assemblage of cars, looking frantically through the darkness for Rizumu's vehicle. A sudden flashing of lights caused him to jump before he realized that they were coming from the dark red convertible he had been searching for to begin with. Mirio let out a sigh of relief as a heavily tattooed arm reached out of the driver's side window and flagged him down.

"Hey, Tiger," the woman called. "Hop in."

"Thanks for waiting," Mirio replied as he pulled open the back door and slid into the seat. "Sorry it took so long."

Mirio's nostrils were assaulted by an odd, sweet smell as he pulled the door closed. The scent was slightly musky and made the air feel heavy as though he was breathing in a particularly dense incense. A quick look into the front seat revealed Dabi craning his neck backward to look at him while holding a small rolled paper with faint embers glowing at the end.

"We've got ways of killing time. You get your friend loose?"

Something about the question and tone of Dabi's voice caught Mirio completely off guard. He wasn't sure if it was curiosity of compassion in the other man's tone, but he could tell that for whatever reason, there was a genuine interest. The notion unsettled him either way, and he couldn't help but shiver slightly under Dabi's gaze.

"…yeah, he's alright. Thanks for the tip on breaking Compress' Quirk. I owe you guys."

"Just sit back and breathe," Rizumu instructed as she closed the window and began to back out of the space. "You look awful."

"Do I?" Mirio asked, not having given a single thought to his appearance.

Mirio leaned up to look in the rearview mirror, catching sight of someone he barely even recognized. His hair was a mess, streaked with dirt and tangled by sweat. There was a long but shallow cut across his cheek that he didn't remember incurring, and dirt had caked itself all over his uniform. All in all, he did look awful- awful enough that he couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable seeing his reflection.

"You look like shit," Dabi confirmed. "Here."

Mirio watched curiously as a charred hand reached back behind the front seat, offering him the blunt. He lurched forward slightly as the vehicle stopped reversing, putting his face closer to the unfamiliar object.

"I don't…"

"Don't be a pussy," Dabi chided. "Come on, you need to calm down. You're literally shaking. If you piss yourself in her convertible, Riz'll gut ya."

"Dabi," Rizumu warned, her voice full of disdain as she moved the vehicle forward and out of the lot.

Mirio continued to stare at the proffered roll of paper. Despite his general misgivings, he didn't immediately dismiss the notion. He knew that accepting the gift would likely make Dabi trust him more, and potentially curry favor with Rizumu as well. Additionally, it could help him relax, or so he had heard, and Dabi was right- he was shaking, though from fear, cold, or adrenaline, he honestly didn't know. Mirio hesitantly reached out and accepted the blunt before slowly bringing it to his lips.

He was doing it to maintain his cover. To fit in. That's what he told himself, anyway.

With a deep inhale, Mirio felt the pungent fumes fill his lungs. The odd sensation caused him to pull the implement away almost immediately as he broke into a coughing fit. He handed the small item back to Dabi, very much feeling like he might throw up.

"Seriously?" Rizumu said flatly. "You know I don't even like you doing that shit."

"Yeah, but you like me," Dabi crooned as he took another puff. "So, you put up with it."

"Yeah, maybe," Rizumu agreed as she turned off of campus and onto the main road. "But could you maybe not get the boy scout high? He has enough problems right now."

"He'll be fine," Dabi said with a wave of his hand, trailing the sweet scent through the air as he looked up into the rearview mirror while Mirio continued to cough. "You'll get used to it."

"I'm not sure if I want to," Mirio protested as he balled a fist in front of his mouth for one last cough. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't hate the feeling. There was indeed something calming about the feeling of it after the coughing fit had subsided. "Thanks for trying, though. I just… I don't know. I'm s-"

"If you're about to apologize for some stupid shit, put a lid on it," Dabi interrupted. "You apologize too much. Everyone's a pain in the ass, sometimes. Own it. Friends will put up with you through it."

Of all things Mirio had expected to be called during the car ride, "friends" was nowhere on the list. What little anxiety had eased with the marijuana spiked back up, and the only thing Mirio could do in response was begin to cough again.

"…my god, have you never been to a concert before?" Rizumu teased. "You get more weed exposure just being the crowd than you took just now."

"Sorry, I…" Mirio stopped talking as he watched Dabi's eyes roll in the rearview mirror. "…never mind. I'll stop apologizing."

"Will you, though?" Dabi joked. "You are a boy scout."

For a moment, the only sound within the vehicle was that of the tires banking into a turn as Rizumu guided the car through an intersection. Mirio took the time to steel himself as he shifted over in the back seat to sit behind Rizumu, making it easier for Dabi to turn around and see him.

"…not quite. I need to tell you something."

Mirio managed to catch the driver's eyes in the rearview mirror for a moment. It was long enough for her to give him a sullen frown.

"You sure you wanna do this right now?" Rizumu asked.

"I have to," Mirio answered. "Dabi, if you meant what you said, then I'll follow that advice."

"…I'm all ears," Dabi replied as he shifted in his seat to get a good look at Mirio. "And intensely curious as to where the hell this is going. You finally gonna drop your act?"

"It's not an act," Mirio said immediately. "Do you seriously believe I'm still invested in the hero world and trying to pull something over on you?"

Dabi didn't blink as he sized Mirio up, quietly taking another inhale from his blunt.

"…dunno. Don't really care, either. I just like seeing you get your back up over it. You're fun to fuck with."

"Well, this isn't going to be fun," Mirio warned. "When we were out at the cannery… there was a situation in which Saku had to use her Quirk. She asked me to protect her body while she was dream-walking, or whatever you want to call it. The second I saw Tamaki might have been in potential danger, I… left her on her own. She was totally vulnerable in enemy territory because I panicked. It's completely my fault, and I don't plan on letting it happen again. I know you told me not to apologize, but I have to. I'm really, truly sorry, and you have every right to throw me out of the car and cut all ties. I'd understand completely."

Dabi took a deep inhale through his nose and pressed a button to open the window. The man turned back around and flicked his joint out onto the street, leaving the glass down as he rested his arm atop the side of the vehicle. Mirio could no longer see Dabi's eyes or expression in any of the mirrors, and all he could do was wait as he listened to the sounds of the car rolling across the pavement.

"…I ain't a fan of second chances," Dabi began, his voice devoid of all warmth and levity. To Mirio, he sounded like he had already made a decision and adopted the tone of a judge rendering their guilty verdict. "Every time I've put up with some bullshit instead of just acting on instinct, I've ended up worse off for it. Had more than my share of betrayal, false starts, and people trying to screw me over. Stop the car."

Rizumu did as she was told, pulling up to the curb and parking the vehicle. Dabi was quick to push his door open before leaning back down to peer into the vehicle with a furious expression.

"Roll your window, babe. Togata- get out."

It was Mirio's turn to obey, and he opened his door to step out onto the sidewalk along with the other man before closing it once again. Dabi slammed his own, and the sound of Rizumu's window sliding up was the last thing Mirio heard before Dabi approached. He stopped mere inches from Mirio's face, giving him a glare full of barely restrained fury. Mirio didn't dare to blink as he maintained eye contact.

"You became a hero in training to try to save people, yeah?" Dabi asked, his tone dripping with venom. "Because you wanted to help people who couldn't help themselves?"

"Yeah," Mirio said softly. "A reason I'm sure you're sick of hearing, and probably think is pathetic and cliché."

"I don't, actually. What is pathetic is how badly you failed at that tonight," Dabi spat. "You listen carefully and take this to heart, or you're gonna find yourself in a position you can't wriggle out of. Riz is my hero. You don't need capes, tights, and dumbass masks to parade around in while seeking attention from the media and getting your name out there in order to qualify. I'd be fucking dead if she hadn't saved me from the streets, and you'll be fucking dead if I ever hear you pull this shit again."

Mirio watched as a blue glow manifested in Dabi's palm, progressing to a small patch of fire hot enough that the air around the two men grew uncomfortably warm.

"She's everything to me, and I love her. I don't know if you've had that in your life yet, and right now, I don't care, either. But if I lose that, if I lose her… then there's only one path left after I step over your burnt corpse. It might not seem like it, but I've got a purpose now beyond what I had before I met her. You don't need to know what it is, but you do need to know that if you fuck with us… then Arowana and whoever the hell you think is tailing you will be the least of your concerns. The only reason I'm not going for your throat right now…"

Dabi paused, searching Mirio's eyes as if looking for a reason within them. Mirio's own were fixated upon Dabi's hand, where the flesh on his palm was peeling away beneath the heat of the flames.

"Dabi, stop with your Quirk," Mirio suggested as he looked up once again. "You're hurting yourself…"

"Yeah? And I'd sooner fuckin' kill myself than let anything happen to her," Dabi announced before flicking his hand to the side to dispel the flames. "I don't know why I'm letting you walk away from this. The entertainment from watching you struggle doesn't match the risk of keeping you around, if you're this careless and dense."

"…then I guess we're done?" Mirio asked, his heart sinking.

Dabi bit his lip and exhaled harshly through his nose. He shook his head lightly and pulled the passenger side front door open once again.

"…get in the fucking car, and don't say a goddamned word for the rest of the ride."

Mirio didn't react as he watched Dabi reenter the vehicle, the door slamming behind him. After a few seconds of hesitation, Mirio opened his own and sank back inside.

He said nothing for the rest of the ride to the club.

Author's Note:

Mirio gets one more, and then back to 1-A.

-RD